Top K-Pop Solo Artist this Year (2016)

Posted on February 27 2017

K-pop has become a popular genre of music throughout the world. It has become mainstream to such an extent that you can hear it played in western bars or shopping malls, and wouldn’t have any problem finding albums in your local music store. As with any genre of music, one of the most debated questions is ‘who is the best or the most popular artist?’. In our opinion, 2016’s top solo K-pop artist is Kim Tae-yeon, usually referred to as simply Taeyeon.

Taeyeon’s history:

Taeyeon is a member of the prestigious K-pop girls group, Girls Generation. She has been with the group since their debut in 2007, and can thank their success for her fame. She has recorded music for various film projects, but her solo career didn’t really take off until 2015. In 2015, Taeyeon released her first material as a solo artist, an extended play titled I. It reached staggering heights, skyrocketing to number two on South Korea’s Gaon Album chart. The lead single off the album, also titled I, has sold over a million digital copies and reached number one on the Gaon Digital Chart. This was a promising start to her solo career, and she continued to push to new heights in 2016.

Taeyeon’s solo work in 2016:

Taeyeon released her second solo work in 2016, an extended play titled Why. It debuted at number one on the Gaon Album Chart, and remained popular for some time after its release. Two of the songs from the EP performed very well, both reaching the top-ten on South Korean charts. The debut single from the album, also titled Why, reached number 7, while the second single, Starlight, reached number 5.

Awards and accolades:

Although she has obviously received a huge number of awards while being part of Girls Generation, Taeyeon has also been well received as a solo artist. She has won a number of awards, including:

The Best Female Artist award at the Mnet Asian Music Awards in 2015.

The third most popular artist award 2015 according to Gallup Korea.

The most popular artist of 2016 according to Gallup Korea.

She was also listed in Forbes Korea’s list, the Top 40 Power Celebrities of 2016.

Best Female Artist Award at the 2016 Golden Disk Awards.

Look forward to more great solo work from Taeyeon in the years to come: she is a K-pop artist with a desire for success!